Catching Up with Luke Kuechly 

Luke Kuechly, the legendary Boston College linebacker, decided to cut loose. Known for his discipline and self-control, Kuechly was attending the glittering wedding last year of his close friend, the San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, and Olivia Culpo, the former Miss Universe. When Earth, Wind & Fire’s classic song “September” came on, Kuechly astonished his friends by grabbing McCaffrey’s mother, Lisa, and taking her to the middle of the dance floor. Tuxedo jacket off, sleeves rolled up, collar open, Kuechly shimmied with Lisa and ended with a dramatic twirl. “She was solid gold content,” said McCaffrey’s father, Ed, the former Denver Broncos receiver. “And Luke was pretty great, too.”

Kuechly, the smart, physical wrecking-ball of a player, left the game following the 2019 season after just eight pro seasons. The brevity of his career may explain why he narrowly missed being elected last winter to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, despite being regarded as one of the greatest defensive players ever. Kuechly reluctantly decided to retire because he’d suffered too many concussions. “I could still play at 85 percent,” he said, “but that wasn’t good enough. I was heartbroken about retiring from football. I’d played in the backyard with my dad since I was four years old.”

Kuechly may not have made the Hall of Fame this year, but he received enough votes to become an automatic finalist in 2026, and he seems destined for eventual enshrinement. One of the most decorated players in the history of Boston College, Kuechly recorded a school-record 532 tackles in his career, and set an NCAA record for tackles per game. After winning the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as college football’s top defensive player following the 2011 season, he was selected by the Carolina Panthers with the ninth overall pick in the 2012 draft.

The day after he was drafted, Kuechly was in the Panthers locker room when star quarterback Cam Newton invited him to dinner. “I was in front of the Westin Hotel, waiting for Cam to pick me up,” Kuechly recalled, “when a red Ferrari with tinted windows pulled up. The window rolled down and I heard, ‘Get in, Cam’s in the car behind us.’ It was Michael Jordan.” A little overwhelmed, Kuechly added, “I didn’t say much at dinner.”

But on the field, his talent spoke loudly. “He gave us a defensive identity, and he did it with class,” said the former Panthers coach Ron Rivera. The undersized kid from Cincinnati was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. Three years later, he recorded a sack in the Panthers’ 24–10 Super Bowl 50 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Then, in 2020, Kuechly left the game.

Kuechly said he’s content in retirement, focusing on bowhunting, golf, and his beloved backyard barbecuing. “I love to grill, and I think I’m pretty good at it,” he said. “I even have my Luke Kuechly blitz wings, which have all kinds of spice. I set the grill at 275 degrees for 80 minutes, and then—my signature move—I toss the wings around in a sealed bowl. They can sack your tongue for a ten-yard loss.”

Kuechly also coaches the Charlotte Christian middle school football team, where his fellow coaches include former NFL standouts Greg Olsen, Todd Blackledge, and Jonathan Stewart. “We’re mindful that they’re thirteen-year-olds,” Kuechly said, “but we’re trying to win!” Blackledge added, “He’s intense—he’ll yell at them about gap integrity.” Given his past concussions, Kuechly tells every parent to read about traumatic brain injuries, and to ask their kids about headaches or a blow they might have taken.

In 2022, Kuechly began his broadcasting career on the Panthers Radio Network, and last year he joined CBS Sports college telecasts as an analyst, partnering with Carter Blackburn. “Luke came prepared as if he were playing,” Blackburn said. “Some of the players were in awe of talking to him. But Luke guards his humility, he doesn’t let compliments affect him.”

Kuechly also continues his work with the Project Life Movement, which invites college students to join the pool of donors for bone marrow and stem cell transplants that can save the lives of people with leukemia, lymphoma, and sickle cell disease.

A public person but a private man, Kuechly, at age thirty-four and single, said he prefers experiencing the quiet of outdoors with his friends to the limelight. “Disconnecting,” he said. “Just enjoying nature.”

Kuechly’s latest challenge is to master bowhunting, a sport that is practiced by hunters and conservationists who believe it promotes the principles of fair chase and a sustainable ecosystem. The sport has taken him everywhere from South Africa to Wisconsin, and this year to New Mexico. Bowhunters must stalk animals at close range, which requires stealth and skill. “It’s hard,” Kuechly said. “You have to be so patient. It’s almost meditative.”

The star who spent his entire career playing before packed stadiums would rather be quiet and contemplative these days. Like another man who lived near the BC campus, Henry David Thoreau, Kuechly chooses to live deliberately—he and Thoreau most surely would have enjoyed each other. ◽